DeMarcus Cousins bemoans getting T’d up for tossing shoe off court

DeMarcus Cousins was not pleased in the least over being assessed a questionable technical foul on Monday night, and the Golden State Warriors big man argued after the game that his actions were justifiable.

The incident in question occurred with less than five minutes left to play in the Warriors’ 121-110 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Cousins was T’d up after picking up Jeremy Lamb’s sneaker off the court and tossing it into the crowd after the Hornets guard lost it during play.

After the game, Cousins railed against the arguably dubious technical-foul call, arguing that he was simply removing the shoe from the court in the interest of player safety, including his own.

DeMarcus Cousins was none too pleased that he got a technical for throwing Jeremy Lamb’s shoe off floor during live action. “Next time, you know, I’ll just step on the shoe and… roll my ankle. Break it. Tear an Achilles. I guess that’s what they want.” pic.twitter.com/emPOsm5v59

“Next time, you know, I’ll just step on the shoe and … roll my ankle, break it, tear an Achilles,” Cousins said after the game. “Just leave it out there next time. I guess that’s what they want. I’ll keep that in mind.”

The case can be made that officials should have recognized Cousins’ intent and refrained from assessing said technical. However, this may have been a case of Cousins’ reputation for fiery on-court behavior — which has led him to be among the most frequently T’d up players in the NBA — inspired the refs to scrutinize his actions more critically in this instance.

Either way, what’s done is done, the Warriors won the game and Cousins for all intents and purposes is no worse off despite the questionable call.

It merits noting that Cousins has been assessed five technical fouls this season with the Warriors in only 14 games, so it’s not like he has turned over a new leaf in that regard with his new team.